The Minnesota Vikings released eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback Warren Moon on Friday, less than four months after signing him to a three-year contract extension.

Moon's days with the Vikings have been numbered ever since Dec. 20, when the team signed quarterback Brad Johnson to a four-year contract.

Moon, 40, was acquired three years ago in a trade with the Houston Oilers. He completed just over 54 percent of his passes last season for 1,610 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. He began the year as Minnesota's starting signal-caller but suffered a right ankle injury in the first half of the season-opener against Detroit.

"Looking back, the trade for Warren was excellent for our team," Vikings vice president Jeff Diamond said. "Going in we expected we would have Warren for two years. It turned out to be three years, and he'd probably still be here if he hadn't gotten hurt."

Moon returned for a 20-14 victory at Chicago in Week 3, but Johnson won the job for good on Oct. 28 after coming off the bench in a 15-13 loss to the Bears.

Moon is fourth on the NFL's all-time list in passing yards (43,569) and completions (3,514). He spent the last three years with Minnesota after 10 seasons with the Oilers. The former University of Washington star began his pro career in the Canadian Football League, playing six seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos.

"Warren did some great things for us. He helped us win a division title in '94, re-wrote our record book, made the Pro Bowl twice and led two of the best offenses we've had here," Diamond added.

In 1995, Moon became the first Vikings quarterback to start all 16 games since Tommy Kramer in 1979. He led the NFL in completions with 377 and was second in touchdown passes with 33. Both were single-season team records, breaking his own mark of 371 completions and Kramer's standard of 26 scoring passes in 1981.

Moon was named to the Pro Bowl eight straight seasons prior to 1996. In 1995, he posted his eighth 3,000-yard passing season -- tying him with Joe Montana for third on the NFL's all-time list -- and his fourth 4,000-yard passing season, second behind Dan Marino's six.

Moon does not plan to retire and could draw strong interest from several teams in need of quarterback help.

"We'll be in the process of making our first calls and trying to find him a team in the next couple of weeks," agent Leigh Steinberg said.

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